WrestleMania Week was a long one
WrestleMania Week is in the books, and what a long week it was.
Very long, in fact.
Not including Axxess, which lasted for five days, the WWE had its Hall of Fame Friday, NXT Takeover on Saturday, Mania on Sunday, Raw on Monday, Smackdown Live on Tuesday, and another NXT show Wednesday.
In total, those six shows totaled almost 20 hours.
Several fans of this column emailed or sent messages via social media on the event.
Bobby Zynosky of Monessen, who previously attended Mania 29, went to Orlando and attended the Hall ceremony, NXT on Saturday and Mania.
鈥淭he Hall was highly enjoyable and I recommend it to any real wrestling fan,鈥� he said. 鈥淣XT was good as usual, and Mania had tons of great moments.
鈥淲WE gives a great experience for all fans.鈥�
Ken Jugan, known on the independent level as the legendary Lord Zoltan, shared his thoughts as well.
鈥淢ania was entertaining yet nothing special but well worth the $9.99 for the WWE Network,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was nice to see Kurt Angle recognize early help from Sean Evans (during the Hall ceremony).鈥�
Angle鈥檚 mention meant a lot to me as well as Evans, who was one of my trainers when I first broke into the business.
For Lamont Coleman at @jonahsdad4life on Twitter, he shared concern over WWE鈥檚 direction with giving older stars, like Randy Orton and the Hardy鈥檚, titles.
鈥淚鈥檓 a little confused and not pushing younger (talent),鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey aren鈥檛 using Brey Wyatt to his full ability, and I am trying to find logic in some of their choices.鈥�
Several fans focused on The Undertaker鈥檚 last match and post-show tribute.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 believe they continue to force Roman Reigns down our collective throats,鈥� tweeted @chad_carroto. 鈥淗e is the definition of boring and to think he is Taker鈥檚 last match feels like a slap in the face.
鈥淣齿罢&驳迟;奥奥贰.鈥�
Karim of New Salem emailed his thoughts.
鈥淪ome of the matches were great but WWE had too much on its plate,鈥� he said of the main show going five hours and ten minutes and, when the Kickoff Show is included, the event went seven hours and ten minutes. 鈥淭he best match was Seth Rollins and Triple H.
鈥淩ollins overcame his handicap and pulled out the win.鈥�
What people don鈥檛 know is that Reigns was said to be visibly emotional after the match knowing that he just ended Taker鈥檚 career.
Jeremy Miller emailed his thoughts which went from serious to joking.
鈥淪eeing Taker retire is like seeing the last part of my youth die,鈥� the 31-year old said. 鈥淏ut earlier in the show, I laughed because Xavier Woods had his hair blown out.
鈥淚 need to do that!鈥�
The quick start to Mania with solid matches caught the attention of @KcBats_2.
鈥淚 was happy with the beginning of Mania as the matches delivered,鈥� he said via a direct message on Twitter. 鈥淚 was upset with the finish with Roman beating Taker.鈥�
Taker鈥檚 tribute to the fans at the end of Mania, as well as the fans giving him a standing ovation, was definitely a 鈥淲restleMania Moment鈥� and the start of Raw on Monday was yet another great tribute to him.
For those who missed it, the opening 13 minutes consisted of nothing more than an 鈥淯nd-der-ta-ker鈥� chant, Reigns coming to the ring, and after goading the fans, he simply said, 鈥渢his is my yard now鈥� before dropping the mic and leaving.
Superstar Shakeup on Raw and Smackdown Live
The WWE will be moving wrestlers around this week in what is being called a Superstar Shakeup.
It will not be a draft format, so look for trades to be made.
Since the shakeup will take place on both Raw and Smackdown Live, it is possible that stars can go from one brand to the other on Monday only to be returned Tuesday.
Major names being tossed around to be on the move include AJ Styles and Alexa Bliss to Raw and The New Day and Charlotte Flair to Smackdown Live.
A Charlotte move would freshen up both women鈥檚 divisions as she has done about all she can on Raw for now.
And if she isn鈥檛 moved, look for either Sasha Banks or Bayley to be moved.
Originally Reigns was going to be moved to Smackdown, but now it appears that he is staying put.
Why?
Because WWE wants to overload Raw even more so it beats Smackdown Live in the ratings since Raw is the flagship show.
Sami Zayn to Smackdown would be a good move and I would not be surprised to see Samoa Joe move as well.
If Styles stays on Smackdown, look for Karl Anderson and Drew Gallows to go to Smackdown so they can reform The Club.
In Memory
Today鈥檚 column is dedicated to the memory of Shirlee 鈥淐hi Chi鈥� Kuvinka.
My thoughts go out to her sons Drew and Lenny and daughter Karmel.
Email questions/comments to Bill at powerhousehughes@gmail.com or tweet them to me @BillHughes_III